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Lal-lo, Gattaran (pronounced as “Gat-taran”) and Lasam are three rural municipalities in northern Cagayan. The former have the Lal-lo and Gattaran Shell Middens and the Magapit Protected Landscape, while Lasam is a smaller municipality that used to be part of Gattaran until 1950.
Understand
[edit | edit source]It is home to about 48,000 people (census, 1 July 2024) 
History
[edit | edit source]The present area has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Hunter-gatherers which once roamed the forests of the present municipalities have left traces of prehistoric life such as hunting mollusks in the middens. The sites were discovered by archaeologists in 2000.
Juan de Salcedo, the son of the Spanish conquistador of the Philippines, Miguel López de Legazpi, began the exploration of the area in 1572. Lal-lo, named after an Ibanag term to described the currents of the Cagayan Valley, was established as Nueva Segovia by the Spanish soldier and landlord Don Juan Pablo Carrión in 1581. Although it appears to have been named after Segovia, Spain, the exact etymology is unknown. The town was the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia at its founding in 1596 as a diocese, until it was moved to Villa Fernandina (now Vigan) in Ilocos. Nueva Segovia was renamed to Lal-lo under the orders of Bishop Miguel García to eliminate confusion with the new seat of the diocese.
Until 1839, Lal-lo was a city and the capital of Cagayan until the Spanish authorities moved it to Tuguegarao further upstream. The move was seen as the loss of Lal-lo's position politically and economically, and the present municipal government has been calling for restoring its status as a city and provincial capital.
Gattaran was formed by the merger of three ecclesiastical or church towns, Nassiping, Dummun and the town proper, founded in 1596, 1598, and 1623, respectively. They were merged into the present town in 1873. Gattaran comes from the Ibanag word for slope, a reference to its position along a narrow plain wedged between a spur of the Sierra Madre mountains and the Cagayan River.
Lasam was created in 1950 from the separation of the barrios (present barangays) west of the Cagayan River that previously belonged to Gattaran. It was named after a local politician.
Get in
[edit | edit source]Lal-lo and Gattaran are directly accessible from Metro Manila via the Pan-Philippine Highway (Maharlika Highway) and Ilocos Region via Manila North Road. Getting to Lasam involves entering a junction west of Magapit Suspension Bridge in Lal-lo, although there are efforts to develop a dirt road along the Zinundungan River leading to from Rizal in the south into a paved and alternate access route.
By bus
[edit | edit source]Buses stop at Gattaran town, Magapit junction, and Lal-lo town proper.
- GMW Trans. Connects with Tuguegarao and Laoag, with one bus at every direction.
- Dalin Bus Line. Connects with Baguio and Aparri via Tuguegarao.
- G.V. Florida Transport. One bus heads to Santa Ana (Cagayan) from Manila via AH26.
- Victory Liner. One daily bus leaves Manila for Aparri via Tuguegarao, and two leave for the return trips.
By plane
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By van
[edit | edit source]Passenger vans connect Gattaran and Lal-lo from Tuguegarao. Vans to Lasam are less frequent due to its small population and isolation. If heading to the barangays of Lal-lo west of Magapit Bridge, take vans heading to northwestern Cagayan (Claveria, Santa Praxedes, Abulug, Pamplona, Sanchez Mira and Ballesteros)
Get around
[edit | edit source]Tricycles are the main form of transportation between barangays.
Lal-lo and Gattaran have an extensive and untouched coastline along the Pacific Ocean, but there is no road access and the area is sparsely populated. The only access is through irregular passenger ferries from the coastal towns of Isabela province or from Santa Ana.
See
[edit | edit source]- 1 Lal-lo and Gattaran Shell Middens. UNESCO World Heritage Site. Various sizes of shell middens carbon dated from 2000 BC to 100 AD
- 2 Magapit Suspension Bridge (the Golden Gate of Cagayan). Asia's first suspension bridge, built in 1978. It spans the Cagayan River at Lallo and is 760 metres (2,490 ft) long. The hanging bridge links Cagayan and the Ilocos Region by the scenic Patapat Road.
- 3 Lal-lo Church (Saint Dominic de Guzman Parish Church), Cagayan Valley Road, Barangay Centro. A red brick Spanish-era church that served as the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia until it was transferred to Vigan, Ilocos Sur in 1758, leading to the decline of Lal-lo as an economic hub. Its facade faces the Cagayan River, a reminder of the waterway's previous function as the main artery of transport in the Cagayan Valley.
- 4 Gattaran Church (Saint Catherine of Alexandria Parish), National Highway, Barangay Centro Sur, Gattaran. Gattaran's main Roman Catholic church, built during the Spanish era
- 5 Nassiping Church ruins, National Highway, Barangay Nassiping, Gattaran. Built during the Spanish era and dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel, this was the Roman Catholic parish church of Nassiping when it was a separate municipality. After Nassiping was annexed by Gattaran, the church fell into ruin, but somehow managed to avoid being razed altogether, resulting in a mostly intact nave and tower. The structure has been partially roofed over and now serves as the village chapel.
- 6 Ar-aro Cave, Barangay Naddungan, Gattaran.
- 7 Sicalao Abut, Barangay Sicalao, Lasam. A local natural protected area along the Zinundungan River featuring pristine rivers, waterfalls, caves and forests.
Do
[edit | edit source]Buy
[edit | edit source]- 1 Lal-lo Public Market, Cagayan Valley Road, Bagumbayan, Lal-lo.
- 2 Puregold Lal-lo, Cagayan Valley Road, Bagumbayan, Lal-lo (beside Lal-lo Public Market).
- 3 Gattaran Public Market, Maharlika Highway, Centro Norte, Gattaran.
- 4 Lasam Public Market, N. Agatep Street, Centro II, Lasam.
Eat
[edit | edit source]Drink
[edit | edit source]Sleep
[edit | edit source]Stay safe
[edit | edit source]There are some New People's Army rebels in the Sierra Madre hinterlands in Lal-lo and Gattaran, as well as in the hinterlands of Lasam.
Connect
[edit | edit source]Lal-lo's postal code is 3509, while that of Gattaran is 3508 and Lasam's is 3524.
Go next
[edit | edit source]| Routes through Lal-lo |
| Aparri ← Camalaniugan ← | N  S | → END |
| Laoag ← Allacapan ← | N  S | → Gattaran → Tuguegarao |
| END ← | W  E | → Buguey → Santa Ana |